Pictet Asset Management a entamé la commercialisation en Espagne de son fonds coordonné luxembourgeois Pictet Global Bonds Fundamental (lire Newsmanagers du 23 février) qui a été lancé le 31 janvier, rapporte Funds People.

En 2009, Aviva Gestión se fixait pour objectif d’atteindre les 500 millions d’euros d’encours en deux ans. Actuellement, ses actifs sous gestion sont de 680 millions d’euros, rapporte Funds People à l’issue de la seconde réunion annuelle avec les institutionnels qui s’est tenue jeudi. La société de gestion suit un style «value», avec une «obsession spéciale», qui est la préservation du capital. Au total, en comptant les fonds de pension et les contrats d’assurance vie, Aviva gère en Espagne plus de 14 milliards d’euros.

Le groupe britannique Aberdeen Asset Management vient d’annoncer la nomination de Charles MacGregor en qualité de responsable de la recherche crédit sur la zone Asie-Pacifique. Charles MacGregor travaillait précédemment chez Aviva Investors Asia à Singapour. Aberdeen a en outre nommé Thu Ha Chow au poste d’analyste crédit senior. Tha Ha Chow, qui a déjà travaillé dans l'équipe fixed income d’Aberdeen à Londres, se concentrera sur les émetteurs en Asie.

En acquérant pour un euro symbolique la nouvelle caisse d'épargne Unnim, résultat de la fusion de trois autres caisses (Caixa Terrasa, Caixa Sabadell et Caixa Manlleu), le BBVA prend le contrôle de la société de gestion Unnim Gesfons dont l’encours représente 160 millions d’euros répartis sur trois fonds obligataires (61 millions), un diversifié (3 millions), quatre garantis obligataires (85 millions) et un actions internationales (10 millions), rapporte Funds People.Avec l’appoint des actifs apportés par les fonds ouverts d’Unnim, BBVA Asset Management va frôler les 20 milliards d’euros.En plus de ses fonds gérés en direct, Unnim a également quatre fonds délégués à Ahorro Corporación Gestión ainsi que quatre sicav héritées de Caixa Terrasa, avec plus de 500 millions d’euros sous gestion, de sorte que le total des encours d’Unnim représentent quelque 700 millions d’euros.

Le gestionnaire colombien Bolsa y Renta (ByR)a présenté le fonds d’actions coordonné Colombia Equity Fund qui va être distribué par le TPM germano-espagnol Accelerando Associates prioritairement auprès d’investisseurs institutionnels, rapporte Funds People.Ce produit (lire Newsmanagers du 19 janvier) répliquera la stratégie d’un fonds local colimbien qui affiche uner performance annuelle de 15,4 % en pesos (avant frais) depuis son lancement en février 2007, surperformant ainsi son indice de référence, le ColCap (20 valeurs) avec un portefeuille concentré de 13 lignes, dont 2 titres hors indice. Le gérant, Alejandro Correa, pratique une approche d’analyse fondamentale. ByR est basée à Medellín et affiche 2 milliards de dollars d’encours.

The objective of the Threadneedle (Lux) Global Opportunities Bond fund, which the British asset management firm is now releasing in Germany, is to generate performance 450 basis points higher than the 1-month rate on savings in US dollars, regardless of market conditions, Das Investment reports.The bond fund brings together the best ideas of 43 professionals in the bond team led by Jim Cielinsi, the manager of the fund. The portfolio may invest in government bonds from developed or emerging countries, investment grade or other corporate bonds, ABS, currencies, and derivatives.A part of the short-term portfolio aims to sustainably outperform the Libor, while the other aims to produce gains through tactical or longer-term strategic bets.CharacteristicsName: Threadneedle (Lux) Global Opportunities BondISIN code: LU0640492830Management commission: 1.15%Performance commission: 15% with high watermark

The British Aberdeen Asset Mangement group has announced the appointment of Charles MacGregor as head of credit research for Asia-Pacific. MacGregor previously worked at Aviva Investors Asia in Singapore. Aberdeen has also appointed Thu Ha Chow as senior credit analyst. Chow, who had already worked in the fixed income team at Aberdeen in London, will concentrate on issuers in Asia.

Pictet Asset Management has released its Luxembourg-registered UCITS fund Pictet Global Bonds Fundamental (see Newsmanagers of 23 February), launched on 31 January, for sale in Spain, Funds People reports.

The Colombian asset management firm Bolsa y Renta (ByR) has unveiled the UCITS equity fund Colombia Equity Fund, which will sold by the German-Spanish third-party marketer Accelerando Associates, primarily to institutional investors, Funds People reports.The product (see Newsmanagers of 19 January) will replicate the strategy of a local Colombian fund which has delivered annual returns of 15.4% in pesos (before fees) since its launch in February 2007, outperforming its benchmark, the ColCap (20 shares), with a concentrated portfolio of 13 positions, of which 2 are on shares not included in the index. The manager, Alejandro Correa, uses a fundamental analysis approach.ByR is based in Medellín and has USD2bn in assets.

Among the products that the Paris office of BNY Mellon Asset Management is planning to “push” in France this year is the BNY Mellon Absolute Return Equity, whose assets total GBP160m. The fund, launched on 31 January 2011, as of the end of January 2012 had earned returns of 2.02%.As Matthew McKelvey, a product specialist in the Insight management team (a boutique from BNY Mellon AM, which has GBP168bn in assets), explains to Newsmanagers, the UCITS fund uses a fundamental approach to select 65 to 75 pairs of equities or equity indices, and turns over its portfolio an average of five times per year, so as to protect bets with strict stop-loss discipline.The fund is a slightly more dynamic version of the UK Equity Market Neutral fund (GBP760m), which has generated net annual returns of 3.7% over five years, with volatility of 1.6% per year. At the request of investors who wanted a product with even higher returns, the BNY Mellon fund operates with a 40 basis points (bps) stop loss, instead of the 15pbs stop loss used for the original fund.When volatility or correlations increase, the managers, who use a fundamental approach, reduce risk in order to protect the portfolio in stressed markets, with even tighter hedging of pair trades.The BNY Mellon Absolute Return fund, a long/short equity fund with daily liquidity, aims for returns 6% to 8% higher than the libor before fees over 3 to 5 years (see Newsmanagers of 2 February and 9 September 2011).CharacteristicsName: BNY Mellon Absolute Return Equity FundISIN codes: IE00B3SFH735 (original R Acc shares in pounds Sterling)IE00B3T5WH77 (R shares in hedged euros)IE00B443FG34 (R shares in US dollars)Front-end fee: 5%Management commission: 1.50%Performance commission: 15% on performance exceeding the libor 1 month with high watermark

The Financial Times reports that the three major US providers of ETF funds since the beginning of the year have been fighting a price war to win market share. BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, which between them manage 84% of the USD1.2trn in ETF funds, have lowered their management fees on 75 ETFs since the beginning of 2012, and have increased them on only two products, according to statistics from XTF.

As soon as it will have received the corresponding licence from the French watchdog AMF, Swiss Life Asset Management will announce the launch of a first FCP fund replicating the portfolios of the three best managers in the amLeague championship in the fully invested euro equities portfolio mandate.The product will deploy a “momentum” type strategy developed by Swiss Life Asset Management in Zurich, Pierre Grimaud, CEO of the Third Party Asset Management (TPAM) division at Swiss Life, announced on Thursday evening, at a plenary meeting of amLeague.The new product, an open-ended fund reserved for investor members of amLeague, will be based on an investable strategy index based on closing share prices, to replicate the portfolios selected by the top three best-performing managers participating in the amLeague championship. The data will be sent every business day at 4 pm by amLeague, completely anonymously. The portfolio will be weighted with 4/9 for the leader in the rankings, 1/3 for second place, and 2/9 for third place. The rankings will be established on the basis of risk-adjusted performance (volatility) over a rolling three-month period.Weighting will be adjusted once per month.

Corporate bond issues started fast out of the gate this year – faster than in the three previous years. In the first two months of the year, the volume of corporate bond issues has totalled USD543bn, with nearly USD300bn in the month of February alone, compared with USD2.4trn in all of 2011, according to a study by Standard & Poor’s of corporate bond activity since 1 January. European issuers are the source of 44% of the volumes issued, while US businesses represent 32% of the total and emerging markets account for 10%. The cost of borrowing for investment grade and speculative category businesses was 11% and 13%, respectively. Investors have responded to demand, but may very quickly become more reticent if difficulties persist in the euro zone, or if projections of lower growth in North America prove true.

Facing difficult market conditions and the restriction of lines of credit, investment funds are focusing on their existing portfolios. Build-ups (acquisitions made by companies and held in funds) have started to account for an increasing part of their activities, Agefi notes. These transactions totalled USD28.4bn in 2011 (+59% in one year), and represented 36% of operations in the sector (28% in 2010).

“The complexity of supply chains makes it difficult for companies to fully understand and manage the environmental and social impacts of their business activities. However, the risks can lead to business consequences such as loss of reputation, supply chain disruptions, product safety problems or cost increases”, say Eurosif and Sarasin in a new research.“Consequently, these issues constitute not only ethical challenges but also financial risks. Investors should therefore assess companies on their capabilities to reduce or avoid such risks by implementing responsible supply chain standards and practices”.To this end, investors should first estimate the exposure of a company to supply chain issues by looking at factors such as industry, degree of outsourcing and locations of suppliers. For example, certain industries like electronics, apparel and textile, apparel retailers, food industry and food retailers have a comparatively high exposure. Secondly, companies exposed to supply chain issues can be distinguished by the quality of their sustainable supply chain management, which should cover the product labelling or the active collaboration with competitors and stakeholders.

The German asset management firm ÖkoRenta, a specialist in sustainable investment, has decided to suspend sales of its fund investing in privat companies in the renewable energies sector, Ökorenta Zukunftsenergien I (ZE I), Fonds Professionell reports. The decision, which will remain in effect until the legal situation of the fund has been clarified, follows the passage by the German government of a law on 29 February which will “drastically” reduce subsidies for solar energy, starting from spring 2012. The move will result in a steep reduction in the earnings of service providers and producers in the sector, and will cause serious problems for sales of solar modules.

The Luxembourg affiliate of the Danish firm Sparinvest has announced the launch of the Sparinvest Institutional Corporate Value Bonds 2015 fund on 16 March. The international corporate bond fund matures on 31 December 2015, and will deploy the value strategy characteristic of the asset management firm.The objective is to offer institutional investors and independent financial advisers a return which is known at the time of investment, with reduced risk of default. The management objective is to deliver net returns of about 4.5%, associated with a volatility of about 2. Subscription to the fund will be open from 16 March to 16 April 2012.The portfolio will invest in securities to mature at most 12 months after the maturity of the fund. Its allocation is 70% to investment grade bonds, and 30% to high yield bonds, with an average rating of BBB. The fund, which is highly diversified geographically (US, Canada, Northern Europe), may invest in bonds from emerging markets with up to 10% of its assets.CharacteristicsName: Sparinvest Institutional Corporate Value Bonds 2015ISIN code: LU0412330796 (EUR I shares)Front-end fee: 3%Management commission:1% (retail shares)0.50% (institutional shares)Penalty for early withdrawal: 3% or 2% (in case of 1 month advance notification of withdrawal)

In 2009, Aviva Gestión set an objective of reaching EUR500m in two years. Currently, its assets under management total EUR680m, Funds People reports, following the firm’s second annual meeting with institutional investors, held on Thursday. The asset management firm uses a value style, with a “particular obsession” for the preservation of capital. Overall, counting pension funds and life insurance contracts, Aviva manages EUR14bn in Spain.

With its acquisition of the new Unnim savings bank, the result of the merger of three other savings banks (Caixa Terrasa, Caixa Sabadell and Caixa Manlleu), for a symbolic price of one euro, BBVA takes control of the asset management firm Unnim Gesfons, whose assets total EUR160m in three bond funds (EUR61m), one diversified fund (EUR3m), four bond guaranteed funds (EUR85m) and one international equity fund (EUR10m), Funds People reports. With the addition of assets contributed by the open-ended funds at Unnim, BBVA Asset Management will have over EUR20bn in assets. In addition to its directly-managed funds, Unnim also has four funds outsourced to Ahorro Corporación Gestión, and four Sicav funds inherited from Caixa Terrasa, with over EUR500m in assets under management, putting total assets at Unnim at about EUR700m.

Henderson Global Investors, on behalf of its German business Warburg - Henderson KAG, has acquired an office property in the Netherlands and two retail units in Austria.“Haagsche Hof” in the Netherlands was acquired for EUR27million. It is located very centrally in the historical city centre of The Hague. The building has 11,000 sqm of lettable floor space, arranged over six floors, and 303 parking spaces. The office was bought for Warburg - Henderson European Core Property Fund No. 1 which was launched in December 2006 for institutional investors. Meanwhile, Henderson has also acquired a fully let retail warehouse in the Austrian city of Fürstenfeld (Styria) from ARW Bauprojekt GmbH. The property, purchased from ARW Bauprojekt GmbH, comprises close to 15.000 sqm. For the same Fund, Henderson has acquired a shopping unit - Intersport Eybl - in Vienna, from Deka Immobilien GmbH. The property provides over 10,400 square metres and is fully let to Austria’s leading sports goods retailer, Intersport Eybl, with a remaining lease length of twelve years. The purchase price for both retail assets was undisclosed.

Aviva France has posted relatively solid operational activities in 2011, despite a steep decline in its net profits, Agefi reports. Operating profits (by IFRS accounting standards) rose 25%, to EUR543m, on earnings of EUR6.1bn (-12.8%). In asset management, Aviva Investors France has posted stable assets under management, at EUR79.7bn (-1%). Aviva is paying its share due to the crisis in its net profits (IFRS), however, down 45% to EUR166m, due to a correction to the value of assets not included in life insurance funds to match market valued. These latent capital losses are said to have been partially recuperated since the beginning of 2012, the newspaper reports.

Société Générale on 8 March announced the launch on NYSE Euronext in Paris of the first Leverage & Short certificates based on the CAC 40 with a leverage of 10. The products, on sale from Société Générale, are based on the CAC 40 Leverage & Short x10 indices, which have recently been launched, calculated by NYSE Euronext. The offer exposure with a leverage of 10 to daily upward and downward fluctuations of the CAC 40 index. The Leverage & Short range was created in November 2010. In 2011, transactions totalled over EUR1.6bn in trading volume. These products alone represented over 28% of the volumes traded on all certificates, warrants, and turbos on the CAC 40 index from all issuers combined. Product Underlying index Parity Commission Maturity Mnemonic ISIN Leverage CAC 40 x10 CAC 40® x10 Leverage 200/1 0.40% + CG (*) Open 6998S FR0011214527 Short CAC 40 x10 CAC 40® x10 Short 1000/1 0.40% + CG (*) Open 6999S FR0011214535 *CG (Gap Commission) represents the cost of hedging, systematically included in the construction of the certificate, in order to limit risks to the investor of the amount invested in case of significant falls or rises on the CAC 40 index in a single trading day. Its cost is calculated each day and deducted from the value of the certificate.

Threadneedle Investments has recruited Philippe Lorent as senior sales manager within the French team, the British asset management firm announced on Thursday. Before joining Threadneedle on 27 February this year, Lorent had been a client adviser at Franklin Templeton Investments in Paris, from 2007 to 2010. He then became head of commercial relations at PIM Gestion France, a firm which has recently announced its merger with IT Asset Management. Lorent will work with Eleonard Buono, who has been head of Threadneedle in France since the departure of Philippe Sabbah, head of the office, in June last year. Sabbah moved to Robeco Gestions in Paris, where he has become CEO and a member of the board. With the new arrival, the Paris office of the British asset management firm has three members. As of 31 December, Threadneedle had more than EUR87bn in assets, of which about EUR78bn were under management for clients in Europe. The proportion of these assets originating in France has not been disclosed.

The US firm Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has reshuffled its team dedicated to structured finance, whose credibility the new chairman of S&P would like to restore with issuers and investors, the Wall Street Journal reports.The agency will appoint a new criteria officer for structured finance in the United States, according to a source familiar with the matter. It has also removed the directors of mortgage ratings for both commercial and residential properties.

The Italian asset management firm Azimut is offering its clients an opportunity to try out its AZ Fund Renminbi Opportunities fund, via a virtual investment of EUR1,500, until 30 April, Bluerating reports. If the client is won over by the end of the year and decides to convert the virtual investment into a real investment, the investor will receive the returns earned the previous month. On the other hand, investors who decide not to concretise their investments will have lost nothing, as they will not have engaged any money.

Operating profits at Aviva Investors fell by 9% in 2011, to GBP88m, with declines in the United Kingdom (to GBP31m from GBP44m in 2010), while profits held virtually stable in Europe (at EUR35m compared with EUR36m), and rose in North America (to EUR33m from EUR22m the previous year). As of 31 December 2011, assets under management totalled GBP337bn, compared with GBP340bn one year previously. Pre-tax profits for the Aviva group fell to GBP87m, compared with GBP2.44bn in 2010, taking into account a loss of GBP726m related to the former affiliate Delta Lloyds, which was deconsolidated in May 2011.

Arno Kitts, co-head of global distribution at Henderson Global Investors, has left the firm by mutual consent, acccording to reports from Investment Week and confirmed by Newsmanagers.It is believed to be the first senior job cut since Phil Wagstaff, global head of distribution, joined the firm in January, says the British website. “After more than 8 years at Henderson Arno Kitts feels that this is an appropriate point for him to seek a new challenge. He will leave Henderson in July, but has agreed to help - on a consultancy basis for a number of months - with several ongoing projects such as client handovers. (…)”, according to Henderson.

Alan Brown, the chief investment officer of Schroders, will step down from the board and from his executive responsibilities as chief investment officer at the next AGM on 3 May 2012. The group said in its annual results : «Mr Brown joined the Board in July 2005. He will remain with the company as a senior adviser working with some of our largest clients».Meanwhile, Michael Miles will step down as chairman and retire from the board. Andrew Beeson, senior independent director, will succeed him as chairman.Schroders has announced that its net new inflows have been reduced from GBP27.1bn in 2010 to GBP196.7bn in 2011. Assets under management ended the year at GBP187.3bn (2010:GBP196.7n). Against that background Schroders achieved a profit before tax of GBP407.3m, slightly ahead of the record year of 2010.

Assets under management at the Danish Saxo Bank group have increased by 6% in 2011 compared with the previous year, to a total of DKK33.2bn, or about EUR4.5bn, compared with DKK31.2bn as of the end of 2010. Net profits at the group specialised in trading have fallen 4% year on year to a total of DKK618m. As announced in August 2011, the investment firm TPG Capital has acquired a 30% stake in the capital of Saxo Bank, which continues to be controlled by the founders of the group.

The Spanish affiliate of ING Direct has announced that its “orange broker” will offer all ETFs on sale in Spain, and those from the major foreign providers, to provide clients with an ideal tool to select products by category of index, geographical region, asset class and type of strategy, Funds People reports. The tool covers150 Spanish, European and American products, including funds from iShares, X-trackers, Lyxor Asset Management, ProShares, and State Street Global Advisors.